The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-17
The WinRard Case.

! The verdict in the Vineyard case does not
| give general satisfaction. The sentiment
appears to be that the defendant should
have been found guilty of murder There
| Was no question about the main facts of
the case. 1t was admitted that young Win
! gard aSsassinated his step-farher. He APP
preached him stealthily, while he was asleep
J on his bed, and shot him to death.
The jury no doubt acted cOnscentiously.
They aimed to discharge their duty faith
fully, but could not, apparently, rid their
minds of the influence of the horrible story
told by the defendants mother. 1t is prob
able also that the defendants extreme youth
appealed to them strongly
Whether the story told by the boys
mother is true or not is matter of no i'm
portance now. The Solicitor General held
that it was not true, and it certainly ought
not to have influenced the jury, assuming
that it did, even if it were true. If the boy
had killed his stepfather while the latter
was in the act of cruelty treating his mother
there would have been some excuse for his
crime. He would have acted under the in
iuence of an uncomfortable passion, and
there would have been strong sentiment of
sympathy for him. The facts show, how
ever, that he committed the crime deliber-
ately and coolly, and when his victim was
helpless and unconscious of danger. 1t is
perhaps but justice to the jury to say that
sympathy has saved the necks of murderers
before now from the hangman's rope, and
doubtless it will save the necks of others.
The importance of the verdict in the
Wingard case is its influence upon this com
munity. The impression has long pre-
vailed and still prevails, that it is about
impossible to legally hang white man in
this county When it is remembered that
the slayer of Dawson escaped the gallows,
and that other white murderers who richly
deserve death at the hands of the law did
not suffer the penalty provided for their
crimes, there appears to be good reasons
for the impression.
When it was announced that Thomas Cas-
sidy had been arrested as the murderer of
George Smith at Tybee, many people, both
black and white, expressed the opinion that
he would not be hung if guilty, because
he was a white man.
Is it not about time to remove this inn
IIeSSlOu lTOll JulS community! AS lOllS as
it remains we may expect that crimes of
violence will be of frequent occurrence
There are plenty of boys and men who will
not hesitate to use deadly weapons on a
slight provocation if they believe they can
do so with a fair prospect of escaping pun
ishlnent.
But where does the fault lie for the inn
preston that it is impossible to legally hang
a white man in this county' Clearly with
the people. There is no fault to be found
with the court and none with the prosecut-
ing officer. But the jurors, do they always
do their duty! 1t must be admitted that
they are doing better lately owing to
growing public sentiment in favor of swift
and certain punishment of crime, but there
is still room for improvement. When men
go into the jury box they should do so with
n determination to stand squarely by the
law and the facts, and to refuse to be in
fiuenced by sympathy or appeals for mercy.
When they do this, and when a majority of
those most deeply interested in the welfare
of the community do not seize upon every
pretext to shirk jury duty, a white muir
derer will stand no better chance of escap-
ing the gallows than black one.